The Hidden Journal
by Avidreader1993
Summary: Sequel to 'Let's Start Our Adventure'. Lara finds a journal in her father's vault but the topic of the journal is hard to believe. Is this a possibility or was Richard Croft chasing a Myth? And why is this hidden from IAA? And who is the live subject mentioned in the journal? Should Lara keep trying to figure this out or will her father's secret come back to get her?
1. Chapter 1

Alright I'm back with a sequel. This story is my idea; i didn't get it from past games so bare with me. I am going in blind on this and is willing to take reviews that are helpful and encouraging.

* * *

The rain was tapping against the glass as the clouds continued to darken the already black night; the only light in the apartment was the glow of the T.V. that was flashing between images of Tom Willcox and a video clip of a riot outside of a football stadium. Tom was speaking but no sounds were coming out; the T.V. had been muted hours ago; the only sound that could be heard was the rain and the gentle breathing of the lone occupant sleeping stretched out on the couch.

A smile graced Sam's lips as she watched the beautiful figure sleeping on the couch; she was leaning against the frame that separated the kitchen from the living room. Glancing at the soft orange glow of numbers on the cable box she saw that it was 12:27; she debated with herself on whether or not to wake her. Sam wasn't supposed to be home; she was expected to take her flight straight to Boston from California but at the last minute changed her mind without telling anyone. She had just spent the last two weeks with her parents and although it was nice to see them she really missed the person who was currently the focus of her attention.

Pulling her shoes off to prevent the creaking of the floor boards, Sam quietly made her way over to the couch. It was then she noticed the worn out journal that looked to be desperately hanging by its seam lying on the rising and falling chest of the sleeping woman; the journal was unfamiliar and didn't look like the ones she had seen before. Slowly crouching down next to the couch Sam reached over and grabbed the journal; she closed it and placed it on the coffee table next to her before turning her attention back to the now snoring figure.

Sam couldn't help but let out a low chuckle; the sight before her was breathtaking. Lara was dressed in a black wife beater that clung to her body; she had an arm hanging over the side of the couch and her fingers her touching the floor while her other hand was tucked between her head and the pillow. Moving down her body Sam saw the top of Lara's favorite gray and white checkered flannel sweats before the rest of her lower body disappeared under the black University of Cambridge fleece blanket.

She trailed her eyes back to Lara's face; Lara's hair had started to come loose from her elastic and was falling in her face. Without hesitation Sam leaned forward, closer and allowed her hand to reach forward to tuck Lara's hair behind her eyes; she didn't remove her hand afterwards instead she proceeded to graze it along the smooth defined jaw line that also partnered a faint scar under the chin. Still allowing her fingers to linger on Lara's face Sam leaned in to place a faint kiss to her cheek; then she moved up so that she was mere inches from Lara's ear.

"Lara…sweetie…" she whispered softly. The young British shifted to move her arm from under her head to her side but didn't wake up. This comforted Sam because it meant that Lara wasn't so on edge that every sound woke her up; she was finally allowing herself to sleep. After Yamatai and Natla, Lara was constantly waking up to the faintest of sounds so the fact that she was able to get this close to Lara without waking her made her feel better.

Moving her lips close to Lara's ear Sam once again whispered, "Sweetie." She than placed a kiss to Lara's temple; this caused Lara to stir. Sam drew back to watch Lara's eyes blink open a few times and scan the room. She smiled as she watch those hazel eyes briefly connect with hers before looking elsewhere and then snap back at her. Lara quickly realized she wasn't alone and who was crouching besides her, "Sam," she whispered. She pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes with the palm of her hands. Sam stood up from her crouched position and moved to stand in front of Lara. Sensing Sam's movement Lara pulled her hands away from her eyes and gazed up at the appealing women in front of her; Lara was surprised to see that she was actually dressed in just regular jeans and a sweatshirt. Lara smiled brightly at her then reached out to grip her waist and pull her down to straddle her waist. Sam squeaked at the sudden pull but quickly recovered by wrapping her arms around Lara's neck.

"Completely ignored the fact that we were supposed to meet in Boston?" Lara questioned as she nuzzled her nose into the crook of Sam's neck.

"Are you complaining?" Sam challenged. Lara's response was connecting their lips into a much needed passionate filled kiss. "Never," she mumbled against Sam's lips. Sam tightened her hold on Lara and pulled their bodies as close as they could get. She could feel the heat of Lara's hands on the skin of her back and let out a muffled moan.

Lara pulled her lips from Sam's and directed them to her neck and began to leave love bites. "Bloody hell, I missed you," Lara expressed after sucking on Sam's skin leaving a bruise.

"I missed you too," Sam replied. She threaded her fingers through Lara's hair pulling the rest of it out of the elastic. Lara pulled back to look at Sam; her eyes flickered back and forth between the chocolate orbs in front of her. She brought her hand up to cup the side of her face; her thumb caressed her cheek. Sam let her eyes flutter closed; she placed her own hand on top of Lara's and enjoyed the heat that it radiated.

Lara let out a contented sigh as she led Sam's face closer to hers and brought their lips together. She allowed her hand that was on Sam's face to explore its way back down her neck, the side of her breast, down her torso until it mirrored her other hand, gripping Sam's hip.

Sam could feel Lara slip her hand back under her sweatshirt and skim across her stomach; the feeling was great but…

Lara moved her hand lower to the buttons of Sam's jeans but before she could continue she felt Sam stop her. Pulling back, Lara gave Sam a questioning looking. Sam gave Lara's hands a gentle squeeze, "it's not the sexy wetness," she informed. Lara groaned loudly as she dramatically let her head fall back against the back of the couch, "mother nature…" she growled. Sam chuckled at her girlfriend's exaggerated reaction but couldn't help but also feel what Lara was currently feeling.

"I swear Mother Nature doesn't want me to get laid," Lara informed. Shaking her head Sam got off Lara and walked into the kitchen to grab her large suitcase to bring into the bedroom. "Sweetie, it will be over with when we get to Boston," Sam commented while walking through the bedroom door.

Lara got up from the couch and made her way to the bedroom where she leaned against the frame to watch Sam attempt to unpack. "That's in two days," she pointed out. The older female turned to the pouting girl and shook her head at her, "there are days that I really wish people could see this part of you; then they wouldn't think that I was the whiner," she expressed. Lara's response was to stick her tongue out and cross her arms. "And childish…"Sam added.

Lara dropped the childish look to give Sam a smirk before approaching her, "you can unpack and repack tomorrow," Lara said. She grabbed the shirts Sam was hold and dropped them back into the suitcase lying on the floor. "Let's go to sleep, you had a long flight."

"Fine…let me go to the bathroom and change and I'll be right there," Sam gave in.

Lara got herself comfortable under the sheets and waited several minutes for Sam to come out of the bathroom; she didn't realize how tired she was until she felt her eyes struggling to stay open. Sam finally came back into the bedroom dressed in sweats and Lara's soccer sweatshirt; she crawled under the covers and instantly felt Lara wrap a strong arm around her front and pull her against her chest.

"This is the most inviting this bed has been in two weeks," Lara whispered against her neck. Sam laced her fingers with Lara's before surrendering to sleep.

* * *

Lara woke up to the sun streaming through the curtains and into her eyes. Groaning she tried to roll over but the weight lying on her chest prevented her from doing so. Opening her eyes, Lara looked down and smiled at the girl that was gripping her side and breathing against her collarbone. She was happy to finally have Sam next to her; two weeks had been a long time. Lara couldn't think of a time where they had been separated for a long period of time; the only thing that did come to mind was Yamatai. Looking over at the clock; Lara read that it was quarter to 7 in the morning. As much as she would love to stay in bed with Sam she had to go to the museum to make sure that she had everything to bring to Boston and finish some work.

She slowly pulled her arm out from under Sam and gently shifted Sam's head from her chest to the pillow. She froze when Sam began to move but let out a sigh of relief when Sam continued to sleep. Finally out of bed Lara proceed her way to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth.

After finishing with the shower Lara walked back into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around her body. She walked straight to the closet and didn't notice a pair of brown eyes watching her movements. Those eyes watched Lara unwrap her towel and let it drop to the floor; they scanned the perfectly sculptured body that rippled with every motion Lara made. From the hard calf's to the muscular thighs and firm ass, Sam let her eyes climb their way up Lara's hardened abs, pert full breasts to her face. She covered her mouth to muffle her moan; the worst of it was that little droplets of water were still sliding down her body.

Sam could feel herself becoming aroused and squeezed her eyes shut to lessen the torture but the image was still burned into the back of her eyelids. "Dead bunnies…Dead bunnies…" Sam muttered trying to erase the image of Lara's dripping body; if she didn't it would be the center of her thoughts all day and she wouldn't be able to give herself any release unless it was in the shower.

"Hey…you're awake," Lara said. Sam felt the bed sink in by her legs from Lara sitting. "Please tell me that you're fully dressed," Sam groaned.

Lara chuckled, "So you were watching me," Lara stated. Sam peeked open an eye to look at the now fully dressed young female pulling her hair into an elastic. "No," Sam denied. Lara just shook her head at her girlfriend before shifting forward to place a kiss to her forehead.

"Are you coming in with me?" Lara asked as she got up. Sam threw back the covers and slowly made her way out of the warm bed. She shook her head at Lara's question, "I've got to clean and repack my clothes and then call my dad."

Sam followed Lara out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she saw that Lara had already started the coffee pot. She reached up to one of the cabinets to grab two mugs; she handed one to Lara and began to pour coffee in her own.

"Who are you kidding? You're going right back to bed once I leave," Lara said. Sam smiled behind her coffee cup because that was exactly what she planned to do. Lara leaned up against the counter next to her and bummed their shoulders. "I know you babe," Lara whispered in her ear.

"I still have to do those things just not this early," she informed. Lara rolled her eyes and smirked.

"How was the trip by the way?" Lara asked. The kettle that Lara had turned on when they got into the kitchen began to go off. She reached behind to pull it off the burner and pour the water into her cup.

"Kind of boring really. I went to several meetings with dad to figure what kind of time slot I can get for the documentary. And those people are really picky about their shows and times." Sam replied.

"So your father is going to air the series?"

"Yeah…he watched a couple more episodes and really got into it. He believes that it will draw a new crowd of people."

Lara made her tea and once again took her spot next to Sam against the counter. "That's good. A few days ago you sounded unsure that he was going to air it."

"I was but more because he couldn't find a slot for me due to the amount of episodes I have but I think he is pushing for me to get a slot on Fridays or Thursday but as of right now there is no definite answer." Sam cupped her coffee cup with both hands and stared into the steam allowing her mind to drift. The last two weeks were chaotic with all the meetings and negotiating and still she didn't feel like she got much accomplished.

Sam was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of lips press against her temple, "You've done a fantastic job and the documentary is going to be a hit," Lara stated. Sam turned to face Lara and smiled; she placed her cup on the counter so she could wrap her arms around Lara's waist.

Lara put down her own cup and wrapped her own arms around Sam's shoulders. She held her tight against her chest and let out a contented sigh. This is what she missed most of all in the two weeks, being able to just hold Sam.

"I still haven't thought of a name for it," Sam mumbled against her.

"When do you have to come up with one?" Lara asked. Sam shrugged her shoulders, "Even if I got a slot tomorrow I'd still have to wait a few months for it to air."

"Then don't fret about the name, let it come to you."

Lara squeezed Sam one last time before pulling away, "I have to have to get going."

"Do you have too?" Sam pouted. Lara nodded her head and smiled. "Fine, I'm going back to bed."

Lara watched Sam make her way to the bathroom before turning to grab her wallet, keys and bag. Sam was coming out of the bathroom just as she was leaving. "I'll see you later," Lara said. Sam waved her with her hand before ducking into the bedroom.

"Ms. Croft," the guard acknowledged her through the glass as she went through the security procedure to get into the IAA quarters below the British Museum. Lara nodded her head at the young guard before walking through the doors into the common area. It was there that she was greeted by Lisa Torres who was currently working with her on her recent project. Lisa looked up from the iPad that she had in her hand to grace Lara with a pleasant smile. Lisa was slightly older than Lara and was the current girlfriend of Steven Fuller, Thomas's best friend. She was tan, with long black hair that enhanced her dark blue eyes; she was virtually the same height as Lara but a bit curvier. Her and Lara were assigned to the same project about a month and half ago and hit it off right away; she was a lot like Lara in the quiet sense.

"Lara, about time," Lisa said. She pushed off the desk she was leaning on and walked in step with Lara towards the library downstairs.

"I'm not late, in fact I am early," Lara shot back as she checked her watch. "Yeah whatever I still had to wait," Lisa stated.

Lara pushed open the door to the stairwell, "_Why_ are you here so early?" Lara asked. Lisa just groaned in response. "Fuller?" Lara asked.

"Yes…who else would drag me here before I need to be here," Lisa growled, "I mean really, it's not like he is working on some project that requires him to be here."

"You could just take a taxi," Lara offered as an alternative.

"By that point he has already woken me up with his usual banging around the room getting dressed; there'd be no point in trying to get back to sleep."

Lisa and Fuller had been going out for about 6 months; they got together while they were stationed in Spain together. They were an odd couple since they were complete opposites but they went well together since they balanced each other out; a lot like Sam and Lara.

They pushed through another set of doors and into the library. They made their way to the back of the library where they were yesterday to continue where they left off.

"Sam came in last night," Lara informed as she took a seat at one of the long tables.

Lisa looked up from the iPad, "Really? I thought she was going straight to Boston?"

"She was supposed to but it's Sam," Lara said. She pulled her bag onto the table and pulled out her laptop. Lisa placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin upon her hands, "Bet you had a good night though," Lisa inquired with a wink.

"Not exactly," Lara said. She glanced up at Lisa as she waited for her laptop to boot up; Lisa held a confused expression. "A female's 'best friend'," Lara clarified.

"Ahhh, that sucks," Lisa sympathized.

"Yeah…" Lara agreed. Her mind wandered to Sam; she could picture Sam lying in bed sound asleep. Lara shook her head as her imagination began to rid Sam of her clothing. "Anyways…" Lara croaked; a blush was forming along her neck and face. Lisa gave her a knowing smirk before sliding the iPad to her and they continued their work.

"This is rubbish," Lara groaned. They had been working on this project for a while and haven't found anything. She shut the book and dropped her head on it.

"You sure your father had nothing on El Dorado?" Lisa asked; she also shut her book.

"No, nothing," Lara replied. They had worked through lunch and it was just hitting Lara now how hungry she was. "What time is it?" Lara asked.

"Just hitting 2," a voice that was much deeper than Lisa's answered. Lara lifted her head and turned; Fuller was walking up to them with his hands in his pocket. Today he was dressed in Jeans and a black long sleeved shirt instead of his usual attire of the black military uniform.

Soon after everything in Egypt Fuller had returned to the United States with Ricardo since his own project was finished. Fuller was a real jokester; he always had a smile and was always trying to get people to laugh but most of all he was a very loyal friend. When he had met them at the airport he had flown from Spain where he was station undercover; he risked blowing his cover to help them. He risked even more by allowing Ricardo to stay with him in Spain but he had somehow managed to convince the people that Ricardo was his step brother. It was Fuller that got Peter to give Ricardo an internship with the company; he even gave Ricardo level two clearance to IAA under the condition that Thomas and Fuller were both responsible for him. So Ricardo was living with Fuller and was going to school to get his diploma. Both Sam and Lara were smitten with Fuller; and he quickly accepted them as family.

"Really? We've been at this for hours and I feel like we found nothing," Lara groaned. Fuller came up behind her and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Come on call it a day and put the books to rest. Besides we are going on vacation tomorrow so it's time to relax," Fuller said.

Lara groaned once more before pushing out her chair and ridding the table of the scattered books. Fuller had moved to stand behind Lisa and judging by her blush had whispered something scandalous in her ear. Lara left them with a smirk to put the books back where they belonged. As she put the books away she couldn't help but get a feeling that this project was just a dead end; so many people had worked on it before and came up with absolutely nothing. She leaned up against the bookcase and let out a frustrated sigh; this project was becoming pointless.

The project was El Dorado, to find the location and its true nature. Lara was excited at first because of all the stories she had heard about the city but soon she realized that there really wasn't anything to be excited about. Quite frankly she felt that Peter had given her this project to keep her busy and to avoid any life threatening adventures for a while.

Lara pushed herself off the bookcase and began her way back to the table when something caught her eye. It was a book that was lying on a book cart; it was thick and dusty but the title was what caught her attention; her mind raced back to the journal she had recently acquired from the Manor. She stared at the book with hesitation before reaching forward and grabbing it. She tucked it to her side and continued back to the table where Lisa and Fuller were shamelessly flirting with one another. She was able to walk past them and slipped the book into her bag on top of her laptop without bringing any notice from either of them.

"Get a room," Lara said when she had everything packed away; Fuller and Lisa hadn't done much cleaning up while she was gone. Lisa pulled her attention away from Fuller and grinned at Lara, "Don't be jealous," she mocked. Lara rolled her eyes at her, "Jealous of what?" she asked.

Fuller grabbed Lisa's iPad and began to walk ahead of the girl back towards the common area. Lisa checked the table to make sure nothing was left before moving next to Lara; she leaned in close and whispered "I can get laid tonight and you can't." With that Lisa rushed head to catch up with Fuller leaving Lara glaring in her wake.

Sam wasn't home when Lara got home but she had left a note on the table saying that she had gone to the mall to buy some shoes. Lara smiled at the note; Sam had tons of shoes but with every new dress she got she had to get new shoes.

She placed her bag on the table and began to fish through the cupboards for something to eat; she pulled out a box of mac and cheese. Lara put the water on to boil and then moved to take out the book she had gotten from the library. She put it on the table and went into the living room to grab the journal that was on the coffee table. She made her way back to the table and took a set.

The journal was worn, very worn. It had rips and peeling edges. Flipping the pages Lara saw her father's elegant handwriting on every page except that last twenty or so; they were completely empty. Since the moment Lara found the journal she was put off by the sudden stop in the journal. If there was anything she knew about her father it was that he never stopped his work; never. Originally she thought it was because of his sudden disappearance but checking the dates put a damper on that idea. His last entry was February 15 2004; two years before he went missing and four before he was declare dead. Lara couldn't wrap her head around this journal; the sudden stop, the location it was in and the topic of it seemed really fishy yet extraordinary.

Winston had shown Lara her father's secret vault; it was the 'everything' that Herbert had been talking about when she sign the papers for her inheritance. The journal was the only journal in the vault and it was tucked between two large books; if Lara hadn't pulled one of the books out she would have never seen it. It left her dumbfounded; this was every archeologist dream yet Lara couldn't get the feeling that she had stumbled upon something that was dangerous.

Her father had made a sort of discovery; it wasn't an idea or hypothesis, it was an actual discovery. He had drawings, calculations even a living subject but it just stopped. Lara was annoyed when she first read through it; there was so many question that were left unanswered; so many questions that were answered but weren't 100% positive. The journal had a middle but there was no beginning or ending; her father had found something that he had not been looking for therefore he had no history only facts that he discovered.

"Bloody hell, Dad. What is this?" Lara whispered to the empty apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam walked into the apartment with several bags in her hands; she had, like always, bought more than she was supposed to. She dropped the bags next to the door and looked over at the table to see that Lara hadn't even bothered to look up at her instead she was scowling at two old- looking opened books. Sam recognized this scowl; Lara often did it during University when she was stuck on a paper or was frustrated about a test.

"Stuck?" Sam asked. Lara pulled her eyes away from the books to glance up at Sam. She let out a sigh before pushing her chair backwards and grabbing her empty mac and cheese bowl to put it in the sink. With the bowl in the sink Lara jumped up onto the counter besides the sink and massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers.

"Stuck, confused…frustrated…" Lara groaned. Sam walked over to her stressing girlfriend and stood between her legs. She trailed her fingers up and down the jean clad thighs, "you sound like a sexuality frustrated teen that is trying to come to grip with her sexuality," Sam joked to lighten the mood.

Lara looked at Sam and smiled, "only you would think of that," Lara said. Sam leaned forward on her tippy toes to give Lara a peck on the lips.

"Alright…tell me what's up," Sam demanded. She patted Lara's thighs before moving out of her legs and shifting to the side so she could jump down from the counter.

"Okay but this is going to sound insane," Lara warned. Sam scoffed and followed Lara to the table, "Please sweetie, what isn't insane with you?" Sam joked. She took a seat next to Lara and quickly recognized one of the books; it was the journal Lara fell asleep with last night.

"No, I mean this is pushing it." Lara gave Sam a serious look before taking a breath to begin her explanation. "Okay remember when we talked on the phone the other day?" Lara asked. Sam simply nodded her head. "Well I went to the manor and Winston showed me a vault that was hidden beneath the manor. It had some very valuable treasures and books; the place was loaded." Lara study Sam's face to make sure she was following. "When I was down there I was just looking around; there was this large book shelf that had a lot of large and dusty books, I pulled out one of the books and out fell this" Lara lifted the journal.

"I was wondering where it came from," Sam commented.

"It was tucked tightly between two books; I didn't really bother with it at first until I continued to scan the shelf and the room and realized that this was the only journal that was down there. Now, before we went down there Winston informed me that the stuff that was in the vault was either very valuable or was dangerous and had many people hunting for it."

Sam grabbed the journal and traced the ripped exterior, "So this journal…what's in it?" Sam asked.

Lara gave Sam a hesitant look before grabbing the other large book and closing it so that the cover was visible. Sam looked down at the book and read the title 'Werewolves: The Origins.'

"Werewolves?" Sam asked with disbelief. Lara nodded her head and stood up to pace back and forth across the hardwood floor of their apartment. "You mean like shape shifting humans like in Twilight? God I hate that movie…I mean come on society can't accept a homosexual couple but they will brainwash their kids into believing that the girl always needs saving by the handsome, strong guy…or in this case several-"

"Sam…focus…" Lara snapped her out of her rant. "Right…werewolves," Sam repeated. Lara stopped pacing and went to stand behind Sam; she leaned over her shoulder to grab the journal and opened it to the first page. "Alright…my father starts off with listing a few origins of where the legend started; I believe that these few were the ones that he thought were more relevant or made sense." Lara explained as she skimmed her finger over the handwriting of her father on the first two pages.

"I thought you had to be bitten and changed by the moon…unless you're Jacob?" Sam asked.

"No…those types of stories came years later after the supposed first werewolf. I mean the legend of werewolves' dates back to Christ and Romans. There are so many 'first' legends but what I found in the book," Lara pointed to the book she had gotten from IAA, "is that the common ground between the 'first' werewolf is that it isn't transformed by the moon; in fact they suggest that the human had the ability to shape shift when they wanted or were forced in that form," Lara said.

"Like Jacob?" Sam compared. Lara rolled her eyes but answered, "Kinda."

Sam stared down at the journal and book; she could feel Lara leaning over her and if she had eyes on the back of her head she would be able to see the scowl back on her face.

"Okay…I-I'm confused…" Sam said truthfully. Lara rested her head on Sam's shoulder to figure out the best way to explain this.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you the legends that my father listed in his journal; I had to look these up since he didn't give much explanation. He listed three: the roman one, the Christ one and the Native American one. The roman one was about King Lycaon; he was serving a dinner for the Gods, he offended them by serving them human meat. Jupiter, as his punishment, transformed Lycaon into a werewolf so that Lycaon would be able to eat human flesh without it being so offensive."

Sam gave a Lara a disgusted look but nodded her head for her to go on.

"Now…this story is where the term lycanthropes came from; it's another name for werewolf. '_Lykos_' means 'wolf and '_anthrōpos' _means 'man'. That's one story…another story is during the time of Christ. In book Ten of Homer's Odysseus, the grandfather of the hero Odysseus is named Autolykos, meaning "he who is wolf." The people of Arcadia believed some members of their culture had the ability to turn themselves into wolves. If they tasted human flesh during the transformation they were doomed to live out their lives as wild beasts unless they abstained from human flesh for nine years."

"I'm starting to see a gruesome common thread," Sam commented. Lara brushed off the comment and continued.

"The finally legend is more descriptive and has an actual story to it. In this legend, there is a spirit-god named Wisakachek who was a shape-shifter who lived in the woods. He was a friend to humans whose default physical form was that of a wolf. One day Wisakachek was roaming the woods in the form of a man when he saw two brothers from the Fox tribe hunting. The boys, named Keme and Matchitehew had just caught a deer with their bows and arrows. Wisakachek walked up to the boys and presented himself as a lost and hungry wanderer from a different tribe. Keme offered the "stranger" some of the deer meat that they had just caught, and Wisakachek accepted. About a week later, Wisakachek appeared in the same part of the woods again and saw the same boys again hunting. Matchitehew explained that ever since they caught the deer a week earlier they hadn't been able to catch anything and were very hungry. Wisakachek, remembering the boys' previous generosity, told them he had no meat to offer them, but he could share with them his power to shape-shift into a wolf so that they could catch a deer more easily. At first the boys didn't believe him, but when Wisakachek transformed into a wolf and back in front of their eyes, they excitedly agreed. The only condition that Wisakachek gave Keme and Matchitehew was that they could not use their wolf-forms to hurt any humans, only to hunt," Lara paused to the information sink into Sam's head.

"See...common thread," was Sam's only input.

Lara continued, "Months went by and the boys used their wolf forms to catch enough deer for the entire village. One day, Matchitehew was in an argument with another boy in the village, and in his anger, Matchitehew transformed into a wolf and killed the boy-"

"I'm a genius," Sam interrupted Lara. Lara smiled and picked off where she left off.

"Now fearing their power, Matchitehew and Keme were both cast out of the tribe and forced to live in the woods. Wisakachek was furious. He cast a new spell on Matchitehew so that from that day forth, he would no longer be able to shape-shift at will. Every day he would take on a complete human form and every night he would transform into a mindless wolf. Keme, having done no wrong, was allowed to keep his shape-shifting ability. Having been cast out from the Fox tribe and knowing that Matchitehew would be unable to control himself in his wolf form, Keme left by himself into the wilderness. Matchitehew is now known as the Father of Werewolves, being the first one and creating the others," Lara finished and slumped back into her seat. Saying it out loud made it seem more impossible.

"Well this one explains the whole forced into a wolf at night; it just lacks the moon. But what is with the whole human eating and killing aspect?" Sam asked.

"It wasn't just a common thread in these stories; it was a common thread in all of the stories. In his journal my father listed some assumed traits and assumptions related to werewolves. In all the legends the werewolves are evil ferocious monsters with an uncontrollable urge to kill; most of the time they are believed to be connected to the devil; they are the devil's creature. There is no solid evidence that werewolves exist except for the confessions given by people who were accused. At one point it was a massive scare in Europe; people blamed the slaughter of livestock on werewolves. The people who confessed that they were werewolves usually turned out to be serial killers or had done terrible acts. There was a point that werewolf trials were just like the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. People were getting accused, beaten until they confessed and then executed," Lara informed.

"It was a blame game…Werewolves were targeted when something unexplainable happened," Sam pointed out.

"Yes, it was also discovered that people with rabies were called werewolves. Werewolves were given a reputation of pure evil and uncontrollable rage."

Lara once again massaged her temples with her fingers. "I need liquor if we're going to keep going," Sam announced. She stood up and walked to the fridge to reach for the cupboard above it. She was able to open the small doors but her shorter frame made it so she was just out of reach of the tequila that they had up there.

Taking pity on her girlfriend Lara stood up and went over to stand behind Sam. She reached up and her 5'6" frame was able to grab the bottle with more ease than Sam.

"Two inches is a lot," Sam pouted. Lara chuckled at her and handed her the bottle and then reached back up for the shot glasses. When everything was down from the cupboard Sam set to work slicing lemons while Lara reached into the fridge to grab the 18 pack hidden in the back behind the milk.

"Alright, let's get this started," Sam said when they had everything on the table. They had several lemon slices, the salt shaker, the 18 pack, shot glasses and of course the tequila. Lara unscrewed the cap and poured the liquor to the brim in each shot glass. She put the bottle down on the table before licking the space between her thumb and pointer finger. She shook the salt onto her hand and then reached to grip her shot glass; Sam was already prepared.

"Ready?" Lara asked looking at Sam. "No…wait," Sam said. She jumped up from the table and ran into the bedroom. Moments later she came out with her camera and tripod, "Sam…" Lara groaned, "I don't think that is such a good idea."

Sam positioned the camera on to the tripod and positioned the tripod next to the table so that she and Lara would be in the shot along with the items on the table.

"Come on, Lara," Sam begged. She didn't wait for a response she turn the camera on and returned to the table. "I need you to repeat what you said earlier," Sam directed. Lara gave her an unsure look but then sighed.

"Fine but this doesn't get shown to anyone until I know what is going on, Okay?" Lara stated. Sam waved her hand at her but Lara grabbed it, "Sam…I mean it."

Sam saw the seriousness in Lara's eyes, "Okay, I'll lock any tapes we make in the bag."

"Thank you." Lara let go of Sam's hand and reached back over for her shot glass; Sam mimicked her action. At the same time both girls licked the salt on their hands then threw back the liquor before reaching for the lemon slices. Sam made a face at the sour taste of the lemon while Lara seemed unfazed by it. Throwing the lemon slice on the empty plate Sam had put table Lara reached into the 18 pack to grab two beers.

"Okay…I need you to give an overview of what we just discussed for the camera and for me, I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around this," Sam said.

The next ten minutes consisted of Lara repeating what they had already gone over but with less interruptions; by the time she was done Lara had gone through her first beer and was opening her second.

"The stories give werewolves a reputation but my father's journal…he suggested otherwise. In actuality the sense that I get is that werewolves are not what they are painted out to be. He describes it like a wolf but with the intellect and emotional capacity of a human," Lara commented more to herself as she reread her father's words about his 'subject'.

"It?" Sam questioned. Lara looked up from the journal, "Yeah…he had a subject…" Lara informed. Surprised, Sam grabbed the journal from Lara and began looking through the pages. "Subject appears to have full human bodily functions, human brain function and human physical features with the exception of teeth. Teeth appear to be a mix of human and wolf. Back teeth more pointed; front teeth more squared and flat," Sam read out loud from the journal. Lara scooted her chair closer to Sam's.

"Here flip down a few pages, it's a different date and a new entry," Lara told her. Sam flipped the page a few times until Lara put her finger on the page to stop her. "Subject shows signs of wolf traits; test shows that subject's hearing, and smell is ten times greater than an average wolf. Subject also appears to be able to see and navigate in the dark," Lara read. "These are his first entries when you get to the last few pages he talks about the subject actually changing," Lara said.

"Changing? You mean like…changing into a wolf?" Sam said in disbelief. Lara nodded her head and shuffled the pages to her father's last entry about the subject and read once again out loud, "subject made a full transformation into wolf. Physical features included black fur, pointed ears, sharpened front teeth, shoulder height 86 inches, tip to tail 52 inches, weight 46 kilograms; subject physically looks like a wolf but appears to understand when we speak to him. Subject was able to change back to human form and nothing looked to be changed or altered. My calculation would be that human and wolf are one and compatible; one does not dominate the other. Subject's main form is human but it is not greater than his wolf form; able to use all aspects of both forms."

Sam grabbed for the tequila bottle and refilled their shot glasses; they repeated their actions from earlier. "This is real…I mean your father is actually talking about someone changing from a human to a wolf. How far back does this journal go?" Sam asked.

Lara flipped to the front of the journal to the first entry, "the first date is February, 2nd 1998," she read. Her head was swimming with questions; she had so many things that she wanted to know.

"What is the rest of the information?" Sam asked; she had taken back the journal and was just flipping through the pages.

Lara sighed; this is where she was stuck. "I don't know it's confusing and unfinished. I feel that my father walked into this blind; he keeps jumping from one thing to another. In one part he mentions family and then pages later he mentions copying the gene. Also he mentions that the 'subject' is indirectly being hunted but then he doesn't bring it up again," Lara said. "I don't know but I definitely know he wasn't finished and I'm almost a 100% sure that he was supposed to get rid of this journal."

Sam gave Lara a confused look, "why do you say that?" she asked.

"All of my father's journals have either been in his library or at IAA but this one was the only one that wasn't. It was hidden in a vault in my house not at IAA. You'd think that IAA's vault would be more secure?" Lara speculated. Sam rubbed her hand on her forehead; she really needed another shot.

"You-you think he was hiding this from IAA?" Sam asked. Lara nodded her head, "My father would have needed equipment to do his study and a place to study his subject and I know he didn't do it at home so where else would have he done it? I feel that they made him shut down the project."

Sam grabbed the tequila bottle and not even bothering with the shot glasses took a swig and then handed it to Lara. Lara gripped the bottle but didn't take a sip.

"I need to figure this out but I feel that I can't use IAA for resources?" Lara informed before bringing the bottle to her mouth. She let the liquor slid down her throat and spread a tingling sensation through her body.

"So what's the plan?" Sam questioned. The girls had given up on the shot glasses and were just passing the bottle back and forth.

"Not sure but for now I'm just going to research; see if I can find something else. But…this stays between you and me." Lara stated. Sam nodded her head and gave Lara a bright smile.

"Okay but can we please take a break for tonight; I don't think my head can't take anymore," Sam begged. Lara chuckled as she closed both books and got up to put them in the kitchen drawer where the secret compartment was. When she turned around she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Sam with a lemon slice in her mouth. She wasn't eating the lemon she was holding the outer layer between her teeth with the inner skin facing Lara. Sam gave Lara a mischievous look and bent her index finger back and forth; directing Lara to come to her.

Lara smirked when she got closer; she noticed the salt on Sam's neck. She reached her girlfriend and leaned forward resting one hand on the table and the other on the back of Sam's chair. "Have trouble with the salt?" she joked. Sam just gave her sly look before slightly bending her neck back; Lara took her cue and leaned forward even more to reach out and slide her tongue along the smooth salty skin of Sam's neck.

She heard Sam release a muffled moan at the contact. She pulled back and was handed the tequila bottle, which she took a long sip of before bending down and going for the lemon in Sam's mouth.

Sam wrapped her arms around Lara's neck when she went for the lemon and when she was sure Lara was done she pulled back and spit the lemon onto the table before connecting her lips onto Lara's salty, lemony one.

* * *

Hope you guys are liking it. And if you guys have an prompts that you want my to write while I'm working on this than let me know. I do have a deviantart page if you guys want to leave your questions or prompts there. Review


	3. Chapter 3

If you don't know what a babydoll is then i suggest looking it up on Victoria's Secret before reading.

* * *

"Sam!" Fuller shouted from the entrance of the private jet at the top of the portable stairs. He had his arms wide open and waited for her to run up the stairs into them. Fuller, Sam and Lara hit it off fast and wonderfully but Fuller and Sam formed a deeper and closer bond similar to what Thomas and Lara had.

"Don't worry…I'll get the bags," Lara shouted to her girlfriend. Sam had dropped her bags except her camera one before she ran to Fuller. "Thanks babe," Sam replied smugly also winking at Lara.

Fuller laughed at the exchange before releasing Sam and ushering her into the plane. He then made his way down the stairs to grab Sam's obnoxiously large suitcase from Lara. "Have a good night?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. Lara blushed; the hickey on Sam's neck was dark and hard to cover up, not that Sam even bothered to try. She smiled at the memory; last night she felt like she was in her teens again. They made out all night but they didn't go any further; obviously they couldn't go further but thinking back Lara didn't feel the need to go further she was perfectly content with just making out with Sam on their couch.

"It was alright," Lara replied. Fuller smirked at her, "I'll have to remember to tell Sam that she is just 'alright'", he mocked. Lara shoved him with her shoulder before going in front up him up the stairs, " a hickey doesn't mean sex," Lara informed.

"What? You saying you just made out?" Fuller sounded dumbfounded. Lara laughed at him; when she reached the top she turned to face him, "shocking isn't it?"

"Yes…having girlfriends mean you don't have to go through the whole slow making out process to get to the sex; you can just skip that step," was Fuller's logic thinking. Lara shook her head and walked into the plane where Sam and Lisa were already sitting and talking. Sam glanced up and gave Lara a warm smile which Lara returned. She walked pass her girlfriend to the comfortable seat by the window; it was an unwritten rule that Lara got the window seat no matter what. She enjoyed looking out the window since she had a hard time falling asleep unlike Sam who could sleep through anything. Plus now, even though she won't admit it, Lara loves it when Sam leans over her to get a video shot of them taking off. If she was wearing a low cut shirt, like today, it gave Lara a great view down her shirt without making her look obvious.

"We got everything?" Fuller asked. Everyone nodded; Fuller made his way to the cockpit and poked his head in, "All set Johnson."

Fuller returned and took his seat next to Lisa across from Sam. He slouched down and propped his feet onto Sam's arm rest; Sam gave him a dirty look but didn't move his feet. Instead she grabbed her camera and set it up so she could film the takeoff. Subconsciously Lara leaned back so that Sam could lean across with more ease and get her shot. Sam was practically in Lara's lap but Lara didn't mind one bit; she was currently taking in the view of Sam's red and black lace bra.

While she was filming Sam glanced over at Lara and smirked at the direction of her eyes. The low cut shirt was not a spur of the moment decision; she had planned this; she knew about Lara's pep show. When the plane was fully in the air Sam pulled back and shut the camera. She put it back in the bag and then got comfortable in the seat; this time she did push Fuller's feet off.

"I just got comfortable," Fuller whined; Sam replied by sticking out her tongue. Lisa rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Lara, "so which party are you going too?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet; we haven't really discussed it," Lara replied. She felt Sam move closer and lean her head on her shoulder. "Well you should know that shopping is going to be involved in our party," Lisa informed. Sam's head instantly lifted off Lara's shoulder, "Shopping?" she repeated.

"Well I guess our decision has been made," Lara chuckled. Sam replaced her head back on Lara's shoulder, "What's in your party?" her question was directed to Fuller.

"Drinking…a lot of drinking," he simply said. Sam raised an eyebrow at him, "really?" she questioned.

"Yep…now as much I enjoy hanging with you guys I am going to go to sleep so I'll see you when we land," Fuller said. He got up and headed towards one of the back rooms; a few seconds later Lisa also excused herself and joined him.

"If you want to go drinking with the guys I think I can deal with the shopping for the day," Lara said. Sam lifted her head and moved to stand up. Lara looked at her girlfriend and watched her stretch her arms above her head.

"Shopping trumps drinking," Sam answered as she moved to straddle Lara's lap. "Obviously," Lara snickered; she laced her fingers together behind Sam's back. "It's the winter season, I have to get new clothes," Sam explained. She was tracing shapes with her finger along Lara's neck and collarbone.

"You know there is such a thing as using the clothes that you wore last year. Most people put away their winter clothes during the summer and vice versa," Lara said. Sam stopped tracing and stuck out her tongue out which Lara smiled at before moving in and kissing her.

When Lara felt Sam slip her hands under her shirt she reluctantly broke their kiss and removed Sam's hands from under her shirt. Sam pulled back a bit but stayed on Lara's lap, "I can get you off," she offered. Lara smiled, "I know."

Sam gave Lara a confused expression, "then…?"

Lara trailed one of her hand that was behind Sam's back, up to cup her cheek. "80% of my pleasure comes from giving you pleasure. I get more enjoyment, more turned on by watching you and seeing the pleasure on your face. As tempting as the offer is it's not the same if I can't return the favor to you; it's frustrating actually and I'd rather wait till we both can enjoy each other," Lara explained; she leaned her head forward to rest her forehead against Sam's; she could see Sam blush and bite her bottom lip.

"Such a romantic," Sam whispered. Lara smirked, "I'm glad you didn't go straight to Boston," she confessed.

Sam pulled back and got off of Lara; she grabbed Lara's hands and pulled her out of her seat. "See…me not listening is a good trait," Sam inquired. "Oh no…that is not what I meant. You should still have listened but this time it wasn't so bad," Lara tried correcting her words.

Sam gave Lara a devious smile as she pulled her towards the other vacant room in the plane, "whatever you say sweetie. Since we're not going to be hot and active we might as well be body temperature and inactive," Sam said. Lara raised an eyebrow at her, "where do you come up with these things?"

"I can't reveal my secrets."

Once they were in the room they settled on the bed and talked and eventually slept for the remainder of the trip.

"Fuck…it's freezing," Fuller stated. They had all just gotten off the plane and were walking into the airport. Snow was falling from the sky and adding to the increase that was already on the ground.

"It's Boston in mid-November…what'd you expect?" Lisa said sarcastically Fuller zipped his jacket more and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "the weather man said it wasn't going to snow," he said.

"When has a weather man ever been right?" Lara asked rhetorically. She had her own hands stuffed in the pockets of her peacoat and her scarf wrapped around her neck in. Sam was pressed against her side with her arms around Lara's left arm; her fingers were warm and cozy in her fluffy mittens.

They walked into the airport and through to the front entrance where a black escalade was waiting for them. When they got in the back they were greeted with warmth and hot coffees sitting in the cup holders.

"Get comfortable…the ride is going to be about an hour," the driver said when he climb into his seat. Sam groaned and slouched in her seat, "great…more sitting."

Lara felt Sam's frustration but didn't express it instead she wrapped her arm Sam's shoulders and pulled her close. "Where are we staying?" Lara asked Fuller.

Fuller looked up from his phone, "Emily's grandparent's house," he said. After answering he fiddled with his phone and then pressed it to his ear.

"The place is beautiful and massive; it's right by the water. We'll be staying there with Thomas and Emily. The rest of the guests are staying at a private Inn that Peter rented out for a few nights," Lisa explained. She leaned forward to describe more of the house while Fuller talked to someone of the other line.

It was dark by the time they pulled off the main road down a small side road; they drove a few hundred feet before they came upon a large white farmhouse that had a wraparound porch. The porch was lit up with white Christmas lights and two figures were standing on the steps.

The SUV halted in front of the stairs and everyone crawled out; Thomas and Emily walked down and greeted them. Thomas pulled Lara into a tight hug that lifted her off the ground, "it's good to see you," he expressed before placing her back on the ground and moving to hug Sam.

Once everyone had gotten a hug Thomas led them into the large house where an older gentleman was waiting.

"Lara, Sam…this is Ben Grey; my grandfather," Emily introduced. "Pleasure to meet you ladies," the older man said while holding out his right hand.

"You have a lovely home," Lara complimented as she took his hand first. "Thank you."

"Can I film the house while Thomas gives us a tour?" Sam asked when she took his hand. "Be my guest; I praise the job my wife did on this house," Ben said. Sam smiled with glee and pulled her camera out of the bag before giving Thomas an expectant look.

Thomas scoffed at her, "Come on…let's get this tour over with," he joked and began walking through the house. They walked down a long hallway that connected into several rooms; on the left there was the sitting room that had a large stone fireplace. On the mantle of the fireplace were picture frames of all sizes; each picture had Emily in them but at a different age in each one. Around the fireplace were two large brown leather sofas and a brown recliner; the color of the furniture went with the worn natural wood of the house and floor. Lara could help but admire the large book cases that were against the wall on either side of the fireplace.

Connected to the sitting room was the dining room; it was causal but elegant at the same time. It wasn't made up of fancy furniture but you could tell the large wooden 12 seater table was expensive and would last a long time. Along the walls of this room were nature and flower drawings and a few plants tucked in the corners. Lara felt a sense of warmth and comfort in this; she could tell that this room was used to have dinner and was not just for special occasions.

Thomas led them through another large open door frame into a massive kitchen that had large windows along the whole back wall behind the kitchen counters showing out to the vast ocean that was currently lit up by the full moon. "Wow," Sam whispered. She panned her camera around the bright kitchen; unlike the other rooms this room was painted white. The counters were white but had black marble counter tops; the cabinets were also white but the doors were glass and allowed them to see the neatly stacked dishes. There was a large 6 foot island in the middle of the kitchen that had stools along the one side and the stove was on the other side; the stove must have had eight burners from what Lara could see. She was absolutely amazed by the kitchen and the view it provided; from where she was standing she noticed the large double French doors that opened up to the back porch.

After getting over there memorization of the kitchen Sam and Lara proceed to follow Thomas out of the kitchen back into the main hallway. They were at the foot of a large staircase but before they went up Thomas led them to another room across from the dining room; it was the bar room. It was similar to the sitting room but was larger and included an antique bar, a 60" Samsung flat screen and a Brandywine traditional Mahogany pool table set.

Sam laughed when she saw the logo on the pool table; it was the Boston Bruins Logo. "A Boston Bruins pool table?" she said out loud. Ben shrugged his shoulders, "I love the Bruins and plus it goes with the T.V. on game night," he explained.

"Alright, this was the down stairs now we can go upstairs and I'll show you to your room," Thomas said. He led them back out of the bar room and up the stairs to another hallway.

There were four doors in this hallway; one at the end of the hallway towards the back of the house; another was across from that one and the other two were opposite of each other on either side of the hallway. "Mine and Emily's room is the one towards the front of the house, Ben's is the one behind me, Fuller, yours is to the left and Lara yours to the right," Thomas informed as he pointed in the direction of each door. "There is a bathroom in each room but there is also a bathroom downstairs connected to the bar room," he added.

"I am aware that you guys were provided food on the plane but if you are hungry there is French onion soup in the fridge, you can help yourselves to any of it," Ben informed. He leaned over to Emily and placed a peck on her cheeks, "I'll see you all in the morning, have a good night," he said before heading towards the back room.

"Yeah I'm heading to bed too; unlike you guys I had to work today," Thomas joked. He clapped Fuller on the shoulder and nodded his head to everyone else and then headed towards his room.

"He didn't work, don't let him fool you. He and Peter went out to lunch and then hung out at the bar watching the game," Emily said just before Thomas entered the room; he glanced at her and gave her a smile. "But, I am going to join him. I'll see you all at breakfast and don't be afraid to make yourself comfortable and at home."

With that Emily left leaving the two remaining couples standing in the hallway. "I bet they have the recap of the game on right now," Fuller said; he glanced down at his watch on his wrist. "Well, I'm not hungry so I'm going in the room to see what I missed with the game," he announced. "See you tomorrow," Lisa said and they both headed to their room.

Sam and Lara made the short distance to their room and flicked the lights on. The room was long and had a large canopy bed donned with white draperies, white sheets and a bunch of fluffy pillows. The room was painted whites and had several large windows overlooking the open grass on the side of the house. There were two dressers, a desk, and a T.V. mounted on the wall. There was also a large sofa in front of one of the windows with a bookcase next to it.

"This house is absolutely stunning," Lara commented. Their bags had already been placed at the end of their bed.

It has a balcony," Sam pointed out. Lara looked at where Sam's finger was pointing to and noticed that two of the tall windows, that the sofa was in front of, had handles on it. She walked over to it and was able to see the balcony and railing; she missed the first time because it was so dark out. She grabbed the handles and pushed them down to open the doors; the balcony was small but the breeze that came through it was inviting.

"Explains the sofa being here; this would be a perfect spot to hang out on summer nights," Lara said. When she didn't get a response she turned to see that Sam had made her way into the bathroom; the light coming from the crack by the floor was a given.

Shrugging her shoulders Lara pulled off her jacket, laid it on top of the sofa and moved out onto the small balcony. It was big enough to hold two people but not furniture; still Lara still found it comfortable; she leaned forward on her arms against the rail and admired the view.

Lara didn't realize how long she was standing there lost in thought until she heard shuffling in the room; she didn't bother to turn around because she knew it was Sam probably looking for clothes or her charger for her phone.

"Where's my charger?" Lara heard Sam ask. "It's in the front pocket of your case," she replied; her head was still facing the scenic view.

"I can't find it," Sam whined. Lara dipped her head and shook it before turning around.

"If you bother to-" Lara's word got lodged into her throat; she had lost any train of thought she had. She left her mouth wide open as her eyes scanned every inch of the person in front of her.

Sam smirked at her girlfriend; she was hoping to get this kind of reaction when she bought the outfit. Her period had finally completely finished early this morning. Seeing Lara with her mouth gaping and eyes devouring her body made her shudder. Sam stood up from sitting on the bed and started to slowly walk towards Lara.

Lara became more and more turned on with every step that Sam took towards her; the way the fabric flowed loosely around her body, the way she could see every muscle movement through the sheer material had her breathing hard and her body temperature rising.

Sam was wearing a black babydoll with a matching G-string that she could also see through the thin sheer material. Lara wasn't much into lingerie and never really bothered with it but seeing Sam right now wearing the sexy outfit she instantly fell in love with lingerie.

"You like it?" Sam whispered when she got close enough. Lara could feel the heat radiating off of Sam but she was still an arm's length away. "Judging by the silence I'd say that is a yes," Sam said. Lara shook herself of her trace and snapped her eyes to Sam's chocolate ones; without a second thought Lara took a step forward, wrapped her arms around Sam's waist and pressed her lips hard against Sam's. For several minutes they fought for dominance before Lara pulled back to press her lips to Sam's neck. "You're stunning…bloody hell I want you so much," Lara groan against Sam's pulse point. Sam turn Lara's body so that she was standing in front of the couch and then pushed her onto it before climbing on top of her lap.

Lara immediately began to run her fingers up and down Sam's smoothly shaved exposed legs and under the bady doll to the soft skin of her back. Sam wrapped her arms around Lara's neck and pulled her in for a kiss while grinding her hips against Lara's. She felt Lara's moan vibrate in her mouth and felt her breast get cupped by Lara's strong hands.

Sam gasped when Lara gently pinched and rolled her nipples between her fingers. Lara moved her lips from Sam's lips to her collarbone and nipped at the skin. She snaked her right hand down Sam's flat stomach to the edge of her G-string; Sam's breaths quickened as she felt Lara's hand travel south. Her eyes were shut; it was the only thing keeping her from coming apart; she knew Lara would have lust and love shining in her eyes.

Lara watched Sam struggle to keep some type of control and couldn't help the smirk that form on her face. She wasn't going to let Sam hold back; she didn't want her too. This was a perfect example of what she was talking about on the plane; seeing Sam in such a state of arousal and the beads of sweat forming on her skin is what got Lara off.

Lara continued to watch Sam as she slipped her fingers under the flimsy fabric down to Sam's hottest point. Lara growled when her fingers made contact with the slippery wetness that had begun to seep beyond Sam's folds on to her underwear.

Sam bucked her hips at the small touch and twined her fingers into Lara's hair. She didn't think she could become more wet but Lara's growl opened another flood gate. She could feel Lara rubbing her fingers along the tops of her folds and bucked her hips once again. "Fuck," Sam moaned.

"Open your eyes, baby," Lara whispered. Her finger edged along the slit of Sam's folds but she didn't push forward. "Come on…open them," Lara urged once again. Sam bit her lip and tried to ignore Lara's request but she so badly want Lara to keep going.

Lara could see Sam's control slipping; she pushed a finger through and rubbed up and down her inner lips; she barley brushed over her clit but Sam moaned at the subtle touch anyways. She kept her agonizing slow pace of rubbing Sam's lips despite Sam's pleads. "Come on…let go, open them," Lara whispered once again.

Sam couldn't take it anymore; she tried bucking her hips to push Lara finger into action but Lara would pull back every time. Sam opened her eyes and they immediately locked on to Lara's lust swimming hazel one. Lara smiled wickedly before pushing two fingers into Sam's hot, dripping canal; Sam's cried out and arched her back, "Fuck…fuck. L-Lara don't…don't stop," Sam begged. Lara moved her head forward and bit against Sam's neck as she proceeded to slide her fingers in and out of Sam; Sam rhythmically bucked her hips into every push of Lara's fingers.

Lara pressed her thumb against Sam's clit and rotated it in circular motions; she kept changing her pattern and it was bringing Sam closer and closer to the brink.

Sam gripped Lara's hair and thrust erratically against Lara's fingers; she was so close, she could feel it. Lara thrust her fingers in a few more times before Sam's body went rigid and she felt Sam's inner muscles clench her fingers. Lara pulled her fingers out when she felt Sam's body completely relax and her breathing began to level out. Sam had her head buried in the crook of Lara's neck and her fingers were still tangled in her hair; when she came down from her high she pulled back a bit and placed gentle kisses down the side of Lara's neck and along her shoulders. "You completely flipped how this was supposed to go," Sam muttered against Lara's skin.

Lara chuckled; she cupped Sam's cheek and pulled her in for a gentle deep kiss. "I've been holding back for two days and before that we were apart for two weeks; did you really think I'd be able to hold back with you wearing this," Lara informed when she broke the kiss.

Sam smiled at her; she brought her fingers to the hem of Lara' shirt and pulled it up and over her head. Once the shirt was tossed to the side Sam went to work to remove Lara's sports bra. Lara groaned when her nipples were exposed to the cool air of the room since the balcony doors were still opened.

Sam threw Lara's sports bra with her shirt and got up off Lara. "Where you going?" Lara protested. Sam ignored her and turned to shut the balcony doors before going back to the couch. Instead of getting back on top of Lara, Sam kneeled in front of her.

Subconsciously Lara spread her legs for Sam to fit between them. Sam trailed her hands up Lara's calves to her thighs until she got to the button of her jeans. Lara's breath hitched when the button was undone and Sam slowly pulled down the zipper; Lara lifted her hips to help Sam pull down her jeans.

Sam could see and smell Lara's arousal right away; her gray underwear was soaked through completely. Sam trailed her hand up Lara's inner thigh to the edge of her underwear then she used a finger to gently and lightly rub up and down the wet patch. "I love knowing I can do this to you," Sam whispered. She moved further into Lara's spread legs and brought her head down to plant hot wet kisses upon Lara's tone, muscular thighs while continuing the motion with her finger.

"Sam…" Lara half plead, half moaned. Sam applied more pressure with her finger and moved her lips closer to Lara's dripping center. Lara had one hand gripping the back of the couch and the other on Sam's shoulder; she watched her girlfriend move her finger and get increasingly closer to where she needed her most but she wasn't moving fast enough. "Sam…" Lara growled.

Sam took pity on Lara; she stopped the motion with her finger and used both hands to slowly peel of the soiled underwear. With the underwear off Sam brought her hands back to Lara's thighs and squeezed the tight muscle. She locked eyes with Lara as she drifted her hands upward; Lara's eyes were dark with lust and her nostrils flared every time she breathed out.

Sam brushed her fingers over Lara's center, which caused Lara to buck forward, before moving her head between her legs. Lara gripped Sam's hair at the first touch of her tongue against her inner lips; she was not going to last long at all.

Sam pressed the tip of her tongue to Lara's clit and drew different shapes with it. She could hear Lara moaning; looking up she saw her girlfriend watching her every move. Sam had to hold Lara's hips to prevent her from moving around so much. Sam rotated her tongue a few more times before she felt Lara's legs stiffen and clench lightly against her head. She licked a few more times before pulling back and kissing her way up Lara's body to her mouth.

Sam pulled back from the kiss and stood up; she proceeded to strip off the babydoll and G-string before holding out her hand to Lara, "Let's take this to the bed," she suggested. Lara smirked and grabbed her hand and allowed herself to be pulled up from the sofa and then led to the inviting bed.

* * *

"When did you switch all my clothes?" Lara asked as she stared down at the outfit that Sam had laid for her on the bed. Lara was currently only wearing a sports bra and some boy shorts.

Sam came out of the bathroom and walked over to Lara, "can you put this on for me?" she asked. She held out a white gold diamond necklace that had a heart pendant that was also had diamonds imbedded in it. Lara had gotten Sam the necklace right before she went to California as a gift for finishing her documentary series.

Lara grabbed the necklace and stood behind Sam to clasp it around her neck. "When did you change my clothes?" she asked once again. Sam turned around to face her once the necklace was on, "While you were in the shower before we left. The clothes you had were boring Lara," Sam explained.

"There comfortable," Lara whined. She gave her girlfriend a hard stare but it didn't last she couldn't be annoyed with her while she was wearing such a low-cut dress. Sam dress was red, low cut and stopped short at her knees; the straps were thin and the bottom of the dress flowed out so that it would spin when she dance.

Lara gave Sam the once over before directing her attention to the clothes on the bed; with a sigh she began to get dressed. She pulled on the low riser Hugo dress pants then the white dress shirt which she tucked into the pants before looping a black belt through it. Finally was the black vest that went over the dress shirt; Sam had insisted that she wear it. She sat on the bed to slip on her Doc Martins boots before standing up again.

"There…all done," Lara said; she stared at herself through the full length mirror. With her hair back and a few bangs slipping out she had to admit that she looked pretty good.

"Not quite," Lara heard Sam say. Through the mirror she watched Sam come up behind her, "turn around," Sam said. Lara did as she was told but gave Sam a skeptical look, "what are you doing?" she asked.

"Don't worry, it's nothing major…I just want people to know that you're hot, fine ass is with me," she simply stated before unrolling the object that Lara didn't know she was holding. Sam used one hand to pop Lara's collar before bringing the red object around the back of her neck so that's two sides were now hanging in front of her.

"A tie?" Lara questioned. Sam smiled as she wrapped one end three times around the other end before looping the wider end through the hole. "I didn't even know you could tie a tie," Lara informed as Sam began to tie the tie to just under her jugular and fold back down the collar. Sam gripped the tie and pulled so that Lara was face to face with her, "I'm full of surprises," she said before kissing her. Lara's hands went to her hips while Sam kept gripping the tie; eventually Lara pulled back but they didn't release each other.

"I've always wanted to do that…I've always thought you'd look hot in a tie," Sam confessed. She let go of the tie and readjusted it before walking over to the mirror to do her makeup. Lara watched her walk away with a smile; even now it still took her breath away that Sam was hers or that Sam would want to be with her.

Sam smiled at her through the mirror's reflection and gave her a wink; Lara couldn't help but blush. She was distracted by the sound of someone knocking on the door; Lara patted down her shirt and went to answer it. Thomas stood on the other side wearing a black tuxedo and holding a black neck tie in his hand. "Can you tie this?" He asked raising the hand with the tie in it. "Everyone else is downstairs and Emily usually does this for me."

Lara grinned at him and nodded her head; she gestured him into the room and shut the door. "How are you feeling?" She asked while grabbing the tie from Thomas and proceeding to bring it around the back of his neck and under the collar of his white cotton dress shirt.

"Fucking nervous as hell; it doesn't help that my so called best man keeps telling me that she is going to leave me stranded." Thomas answered all in one breath. Lara shook her head but continued to loop the wider end into the hole to form the knot she wanted. "She isn't going to leave you stranded. Fuller is just trying to get a rise out of you." She reassured.

"She was so excited last night about today," Sam said as she came up to stand next to Lara. "She couldn't stop talking about it; screw Fuller, she will come down that aisle."

Thomas scratched the back of his head; he still looked nervous. "Fuller threatened to tell her about the strippers last night," Thomas also informed. Lara's eyes widened and she refused to look to her left at Sam.

"Strippers?" Sam repeated. Lara failed to mention that piece last night when she got in at 3 a.m.

"You didn't tell her?" Thomas asked surprised. "You're worried about telling Emily," Lara shot back. She tightened the knot on his tie before letting go. "Strippers?" Sam repeated. Lara closed her eyes before turning to her.

"It was unexpected…all Fuller's doing. I mostly stayed at the bar," Lara explained. "Mostly?" Sam said; she crossed her arms and gave her girlfriend a stern look but Lara's eyes weren't even open to see it. Lara groaned at her slip up and reluctantly opened her eyes.

"I'm…I'll just…" Thomas tried walking away. Lara hand's shot out to his wrist, "No you don't…you brought it up," she said. Lara focused her attention back to Sam, "Sam…I…" Lara tried to explain herself but was failing.

Sam couldn't take it…her mask was slipping; she burst out laughing. Lara and Thomas were so confused and just watched the 22 year in front of them clutch her stomach because she was laughing so hard.

Sam took deep breaths to compose herself; she walked over to the bed to grab the wedding gift and headed towards the door. Lara and Thomas were still confused. Sam turned to them when she got to the door, "You were looking at strippers and we were looking at sex toys," she blurted out before walking past the frame and down the hall to the stairs.

"I really didn't need to know that," Thomas said after a few seconds of silence. Lara chuckled; only Sam would say it so causally. She felt Thomas place a hand on her shoulder, "I'm still nervous as fuck," he admitted. Lara turned to him and grabbed his tie and pulled on it and forced Thomas to her level. "Listen here," she demanded; she heard Thomas take a gulp but his eyes locked into her, "she isn't leaving you. I have not known you for a long time but I can honestly say that I have not seen a more perfect match in my lifetime. You need to pull yourself together, go downstairs and get married." With that Lara fixed his tie once again before letting go.

"Fuck, Croft, I should have made you my best man. I've been like this all morning with Fuller around doing absolutely nothing to help but after one pep talk from you I feel great." Thomas commented earning a laugh from Lara.

"Come let's get you married," Lara said as she shoved him out the door. As she was shutting the door she caught a glimpse of the journal, she had been reading it this morning, and couldn't help but feel guilty for not telling Thomas about it.

_I'll tell him when I think I have something. I can't tell him…not yet…I just feel that I can't at the moment...but why? All he has ever done was help me…ugh…trust your instincts Lara and don't tell him yet… _

"Croft?" Lara broke her thought to look up at a smiling Thomas holding out his arm for her to take. She smiled back and looped her arm in his; she will tell him eventually…hopefully.

* * *

Review...And once again I'm taking prompts if you have any. You can post them on my deviantart page. the link in on my profile.


	4. Chapter 4

Kind of short but the fun stuff is coming. Thanks for waiting. I had a few things to deal with that distracted me for a bit. I have a tumblr if you want to follow your ask me question. The link is on my profile. Review!

* * *

"Ricardo!" Sam shouted when they got out of the limo and spotted him in front of the large white barn with a few other people. Sam was on him before he could turn around and figure out who called his name.

"Sam…Let the kid breathe," Lara said when she started to see Ricardo's face turning red. Sam released Ricardo's neck and took a step back neck to Lara. "You look snazzy today," Sam informed him. Ricardo was wearing a black tux with a bowtie. He blushed a little at Sam's complement but quickly returned one to them.

"Have you seen what it looks like inside yet?" Lara asked. "No, but from what I heard it doesn't look like a barn," Ricardo replied.

"They transformed it completely," a voice said from behind Lara. Lara and Sam turned to see June and her son; June was the widow of Wilson. Lara felt a sense of guilt when she looked at June; all she could see was Wilson lying face down on the dirt. They had gone back to the mountain and retrieved his body but it was too damaged to even consider an open casket.

"June…how are you?" Lara asked. June smiled at her, "I'm good…it's nice to finally see these two get hitched," she answered. Lara nodded her head in agreement but before she could reply Peter came up to them with his kids, Connor and Jessica, and announced that it was time to take their seat.

The large barn doors where pulled open and everyone was greeted with a beautiful sight. The barn looked nothing like a barn; the stalls were removed, the hay was removed and the place smelled like pine trees. There was snow on the ground and everywhere else along with white and blue lights hanging from the rafters; the chairs were placed in rows in front of a large white altar that was decorated with blue lilies. Lara spotted a few icicles also hanging from the ceilings and an ice sculpture of a snow flake behind the altar.

"I am so reconsidering the beach wedding that I wanted," Sam whispered to Lara as they made their way along the second row to their seat. Fuller, Sam, Lara, June, her son, Peter and his kids all sat in one row while the rest of the guest sat elsewhere.

Lara saw, under the altar, Fuller clap Thomas's shoulder and give him a genuine smile. Thomas rolled his eyes at him but returned the smile; Lara chuckled at the fact the he looked so nervous; he was fidgeting and kept pulling at his tie.

"Wait a beach wedding?" Lara asked; Sam's words had finally caught up her head. Sam glanced over at her, "it took you that long to process that?" she asked. Lara just ignored the question and gave Sam a questioning look.

"Yes…beach…like in Hawaii," Sam stated. Lara shook her head, "Not happening. I can take a beach wedding but it's not happening in Hawaii, that's so typical," Lara said.

"What makes you think I'm marrying you," Sam mocked. Lara crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her, "Please…you can't survive without me," she said. Sam gave her a mischievous smile but any words she was going to say was lost to the sound of the music playing announcing the entrance of the bride.

The guest all stood up and turned to watch Emily make the journey to the altar except for Lara; her eyes stayed focused on the groom. Her father always said that the best reaction at weddings was that of the groom's when he saw his bride for the first time on their wedding day.

Lara witnessed Thomas's face light up and a wide genuine smile spread across his face. His eyes were solely fixated on Emily and Emily alone; nothing could have torn his eyes away. She couldn't help but notice that his nervous habits instantly stopped; he was no longer fidgeting and looked completely at peace. Lara smiled at him before moving her eyes to watch Emily be escorted by Ben. Thomas had every reason to be fixated on Emily; she looked absolutely stunning. She wore a simple white gowned that hugged her upper body but then came out around the hips and down her legs. The dress had white swirl designs along the stomach and back but that was it for decoration. She didn't wear a veil but her hair was completely down and was in long curls. And just like Thomas's eyes were fixated on her, Emily's eyes were fixated on him.

Sam and Lara watched Ben shake Thomas's hand and say a few words to him before placing a kiss on Emily's check and sitting down. Once Emily was in place in front of Thomas the guests took a seat and the ceremony began.

The reception was held at Ben's neighbor's house since he had a massive ballroom in his house; the house was 15 minutes away from Ben's. Like the barn the room was also decorated with a winter theme and had several large round tables around the edge of the dance floor. The reception had been in full swing for about an hour now and Lara was currently sitting at one of the tables watching Sam dance around with Peter's kids and June's son. She has been nursing the same beer for a half hour now; her eyes were on Sam but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't get her thoughts away from her father's journal; even last night during the bachelor party she couldn't stop thinking about it. There was something about it that was drawing her so strongly to it or maybe it was what wasn't there that was drawing her to it.

She couldn't help but think about the subject; who were they? Are they still alive or what happened to them? If her father had suddenly just stopped because he was in danger or forced to, then what about the "subject"?

"You're killing the party," Lara heard a deep voice say. She pulled her eyes away from staring at her never ending beer to stare at the producer of the voice. Thomas smiled at her before leaning forward to pull her beer out of her grip and grab her now free hand and pull her out of her seat. "What are-" Lara tried asking as Thomas pulled her from the table and on to the dance floor. "You are giving me a dance," Thomas stated. Once they were in the middle of the dance floor Thomas turned to Lara, took position and began to move around. The song was a mild tempo, to Lara's relief, and Thomas wasn't trying to dance too fancy; he was just twirling her around.

"She didn't leave you hanging," Lara pointed out when Thomas pulled her back to him after spinning her. He smiled and chuckled a bit, "I feel stupid for even worrying," he confessed. He slowed their movements a bit so they could talk with more ease.

"you should…she's your best friends why would she leave you," Lara said. Thomas shrugged, "speaking of best friends," Thomas began, "when are you two getting hitched?"

Lara scoffed at him; Thomas just started laughing at her expression. "It's a serious question?" he said. Lara gave him a mocking glare before answering, "Let us get at least a year in our back pocket before any types of plans are made."

"afraid she will reject you?" Thomas mocked. "No!" Lara said a little too quickly for her liking; she blushed and adverted her eyes from Thomas's.

Thomas chuckled lightly, "wish I could say the whole best friend always together speech made proposing easy but I'd be lying," Thomas informed. "But to make you feel better I'll be there to give it to you if you need it," he added. This time Lara pushed him away, "Sod off," she said jokingly.

"Nice first dance song by the way," She added. They both laughed remembering only a few hours ago when Emily and Thomas danced to "accidently in love". "What made you pick it?" she asked

"Can you honestly tell me that you intended to fall in love with your best friend? Thanks for the dance, Ms. Croft," Thomas thanked as he gave her a small bow before going to find his bride. Lara stood there pondering the question; she spotted Sam, through the space of several couples, dancing with Ben.

"No, I didn't," she answered to no one. She noticed that a new song had started and was much slower than the previous. After letting out a content sigh she began to walk to where Sam was as the first words of the song began to play.

_Every time our eyes meet  
This feeling inside me  
Is almost more than I can take  
Baby when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away_

"May I cut in?" Lara asked Ben when she reached them. Ben looked at her with a smile, "Of course", he said and gave Lara Sam's hand then moved to find someone else to dance with. Lara let go of Sam's hand and moved her own to Sam's waist; Sam gave Lara a radiating smile before moving to wrap her arms around Lara's neck; they then began to move to the slow rhythm of the song.

_I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
I can hear your thoughts  
I can see your dreams_

"You look stunning," Lara whispered to her. Sam looked away from her and blushed; Lara smirked. The song was perfect for how she felt when she was with Sam. "Thank you," Sam whispered back.

_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_

As the song got deeper the young couple moved closer together; Sam rested her head on Lara's shoulder and pressed her forehead against the side of her neck.

_The smell of your skin  
The taste of your kiss  
The way you whisper in the dark  
Your hair all around me  
Baby you surround me  
You touch every place in my heart  
Oh it feels like the first time every time  
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes_

"I love weddings," Sam announced. Lara chuckled, "No you love dressing up for weddings and having an excuse to shop," Lara corrected. She felt Sam giggle against her skin; they both knew that Lara was right and Sam couldn't even deny it.

_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_

"It doesn't need to be elaborate," Sam blurted out. "What?" Lara asked. "Your proposal," Sam whispered. Lara felt her throat tighten but not in a bad way but more of a butterfly fluttering why. Remembering what Sam had said earlier Lara decided to "splash" back, "What makes you think I'm proposing to you?" she asked. Sam pulled back to look at her with a knowing smile, "Sweetie you couldn't resist me even if you tried," was her answer. Lara mirrored her smile and bent down to give her a kiss.

_Every little thing that you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Oh, every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_

Sam kept Lara out on the dance floor for the remainder of the night; she would only let her have an occasional bathroom and alcohol break. By the time the bride and the groom were ready to leave it was close to one in the morning and Lara's feet were starting to hurt. She followed everyone outside to bid a farewell to the happy couple; they were having their honeymoon in Aruba for two weeks. As she walked by, Emily leaned over to Lara, "take care of everything here, don't let Fuller make a mess and when we come back I'm taking you out to lunch since I feel like I didn't see you at all today," she said before hugging Lara.

Lara nodded her head and then gave her a light shove towards Thomas and the awaiting limo. Once the limo out of sight everyone else made their way back inside except for Lara; she remained outside to enjoy the bite of the crisp New England weather. Sam had gone back inside with Fuller to get one last dance with him before the party came to an end.

Lara made her way down the front steps of Ben's neighbor's massive house and down the side path that led to a magnificent willow tree; the tree looked to be thousands of years old. As she got closer Lara noticed little carvings all over the tree; getting even closer she realized that they were initials and hearts. Already she counted 6 hearts with two sets of initials written in them; the funny thing was that they were all different initials. It wasn't one initial and then a bunch of others; they were all different pairs of initials.

"Fascinating," Lara whispered as she let her fingers trail over one of the heart carvings; this heart had the initials B.G. + R.C. craved in the middle of it.

"I remember the day I craved that," Lara jumped at the voice; she turned to see Ben standing behind her holding out her abandon jacket in his arms. Lara smiled at him and allowed him to help her put the jacket on. "We were sixteen, Rebecca and I and it was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight. We had just starting going out a few months before but we had been best friends since we were…four. Yeah four. We walked over to this tree and without thought or hesitation I pulled out my knife and began carving our initials," Ben shared. He grabbed Lara's hand and led her to the bench on the other side of the tree and they took a seat.

"It's beautiful," Lara complimented, "there are so many carvings…"

"Yeah this tree has been in my family for several generations," Ben said. Lara gave him confused look; she thought this was his neighbor's property.

"He's my brother," Ben clarified. Lara's mouth formed in the "O" shaped when she realized what he was saying. "We lived here and Rebecca, Emily's grandmother, grew up in my current house. Of course then our houses were a little smaller and a little more worn down. That's how we became friends."

"It's like those sappy romance stories," Lara joked. Ben laughed, "Yes…it really. And I really lucked out by finding Rebecca. This tree and its carvings; its…I don't know it really set things in stone," Ben told Lara.

"What do you mean?" Lara asked. "Well, the first carvings were my grandparents; then my parents; my aunt and her husband, me and Rebecca, my brother and his wife, their daughter and her husband and finally my daughter. And each couple has had a wondrous relationship; it's almost as if the tree sets us in stone," Ben elaborated.

"The carvings go back that far?" Lara asked in amazement. Ben nodded. "And each relationship has lasted?"

"Yeah…I mean there is hardship but the relationships themselves never failed and always strived."

"Hardships? Do you mean…?" Lara let the sentence trail but Ben picked up on what she was asking.

"Only one couple from that tree has both spouses alive and three of the couples only has one of the spouses alive," Ben answered. "My niece and her husband is the couple that has both spouses alive. My brother and I are two of the three who's other half has died."

"Who's the third?" Lara questioned.

Ben got up and moved back to the side where the carvings were; he traced his fingers over a particular heart. The initials inside were J.H + A.G.

"Emily's father," Ben whispered. He moved his fingers along the A and G.

"Your daughter died?" Lara asked; she had followed him when he got up and now she was just watching him trace over the scuffed bark that held the memory of his daughter.

"Drunk driver," Ben simply stated. Lara's heart clenched in her chest, "I'm sorry, Lara offered. "Yeah…it's still hard on days like this even though it's been almost 10 years since the accident," Ben informed.

"Yeah…can never really get away from them," Lara added. Her mind went to her father's journal as an example.

"No and Emily is the biggest reminder of her and of Rebecca. They live on through her and I'm so proud of her today; and I know they would be too," Ben muttered. He was talking more to himself than he was to Lara. He still had his hand on the tree but now it was just press flat against Anne's initials.

"If it's not personal…Emily's father?" Lara was curious to know about him. She remembered that Emily said her father was abusive but Lara got the vibe from Ben that he was a decent guy.

"He was a good man and loved my daughter to death but the accident changed him…a lot. He lost himself that night and unfortunately Emily lost her father that night too. He never bounced back and honestly I have no idea where he is now; I tried to help him but he wouldn't take it. Emily gave up on him years ago but she is clouded by who her father is now; I wish she could see what he used to be but she has forgotten about that," Ben explained.

"The past is hard to think about when things are so different in the present; it hurts to think about before," Lara said. Ben turned to face her and gave her a sad smile, "is that based on personal experience?" he asked. Lara nodded to him.

"You are right but we can't escape the past; it always finds a way to resurface and if you spent numerous amount of time running from it then it might cause things to be ten times harder than if you had spent the time to think about it and process it. The past allows us to figure out our future; it's a puzzle. You will never put every piece in the right spot on first try until you do it a few times but even then you will know where to put the pieces but every once in while you might accidently put one in the wrong place or forget where one goes. In the end the past is what really guides us to become great," Ben elaborated. He gave Lara a piercing look, "do you really think that you would have become an archeologist if your father hadn't been one, if he hadn't told you stories or if he hadn't gone missing? Don't question what the past leaves behind," he finished.

He grabbed Lara's shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze before heading back towards his brother's house; he walked a few feet before stopping to turn back to Lara, "your girlfriend is quite the charmer," he said. Lara chuckled, "Oh…I know," she replied than watched him turn back around and continued back into the warmth.

Lara pulled her coat tighter and moved back to facing the tree; it was fascinating and the story behind it was truly amazing but Lara could not get Ben's words out of her head. What he said about the past really got her mind going; it made her think about the journal she found. She has been worried about looking further and been unsure if to keep trying but after hearing Ben put the past in a new perspective she couldn't find a reason not to dig into the journal.

She was going to look into it more but still keep it on the down low; she wanted to do this herself. This was something that she needed to do; it was left for her to find and finish. And only one person was allowed to help…

"It's freaking freezing," Lara heard a sweet shivering voice exclaim. Lara turned and watched Sam walk the last few steps to her before wrapping her small arms around Lara's waist. Lara automatically pulled her closer by wrapping her arms around her shoulders. "Come on…lets head back to the house and get some sleep," Lara suggested.

Sam nodded her head, "I really want to take advantage of you but I'm too tired to do anything," Sam confessed. Lara laughed, "I forgive you babe…we have all the time in the world."


	5. Chapter 5

"Samantha…" Winston said; he held out a steaming cup of coffee to the distressed girl sitting at the island in the kitchen. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and a tear stained face and gave him a jerk of the head when she took the hot mug.

"You should be sitting…" Sam told him. Winston looked at the young girl and took a seat next to her, "you should get some rest," he countered back. Sam cupped the mug and glanced at the butler; her eyes landed on the large bandage that was wrapped around the top of his head and covered the large gash that he had. The gash that he got the second he had opened the door; the gash that came from the butt of a gun connecting to his head.

Sam knew something was wrong when she saw the front door of the manor wide open but when she saw Winston laying on the floor with blood pooled around his head she panicked. She quickly checked his pulse to see if he was breathing and when she felt the thumbing under the tips of her fingers she quickly went off to find Lara.

Sam closed her eyes to stop the tears as she remembered running around the manor looking for Lara but finding nothing, only overturned tables or shattered glass. Her blood ran cold every time she saw blood on the floor or wall; during her search she found several dead men but no Lara.

She felt two hands gently grip her shoulders but she didn't turn around; she let go of the mug and pressed the palm of her hands into her eyes to stop the overflow of tears that she knew was coming. "Sam…" she heard Fuller whisper from behind. She felt his arms move from her shoulders to wrap around her and pull her close, "we'll find her," he said in her ear.

She could feel tears slipping pass her palms and down her cheeks; everything happened so fast; she had been gone only an hour. They had just gotten back to England after spending two more days at Ben's; Lara wanted to come to the manor to see if there was anything else in the vault that would help with figuring out the journal. Sam had stepped out to get more clothes and a few items from their apartment so they could spend a few days just lounging around. They were supposed to stay in the states for the rest of their vacation but Sam knew Lara really wanted to get back so they took an early flight home; Sam really wished they hadn't now.

Sam heard the front door open and shut and looked up to see Thomas, and Emily come walking through the door. Thomas had a look of concern and panic on his face; Emily instantly went over to Sam and replaced Fuller's arms with her own while Fuller went over to talk to Thomas.

"What happened?" Thomas asked right away. They were trying to be quiet but Sam could hear them.

"No idea…I got a panicked call from Sam saying that Lara was missing…I didn't ask many questions, I just got on the plane and flew here. I got here a few hours ago; everything happened last night. I came through the door to see Sam, Winston and the driver, Henry, sitting at the table waiting for us," Fuller explained.

"Any details?" Thomas asked. Fuller shook his head, "I only got that Winston opened the door and was immediately knocked out; I haven't asked Sam anything yet. Figured I'd wait until you and Peter got here so she wouldn't have to repeat anything. Fuck…Thomas," Fuller glanced over a Sam and saw that she was now fully hugging Emily but her tears had stopped for now.

Thomas didn't want to look at Sam; he didn't want to see her in pain. Seeing her meant acknowledging the fact that Lara was really missing. "Where's Peter?" he asked.

"He just got in an hour ago and was dropping his kids off at his mother's. He should be on his way here. And before you ask I already ordered Soldiers to search the area and the local towns. But…man…she could be anywhere right now. The dead men…Thomas they were packing. They didn't look like amateurs," he told Thomas.

"Shit…" Thomas muttered. Sam had called him first but he had a lot more baggage to go through to get to England since unlike Fuller he didn't have the private jet. Shivers went down his spine as he thought about the phone call he got from Sam.

_*Ring, Ring* *Ring, Ring*_

"_Thomas, pick up the phone," Emily groaned beside him. "Fucking hell…" Thomas muttered but turned around and reached for the annoying cell phone ringing and vibrating on the night stand. All he wanted to do was take a nap after the four hour hike they just took._

"_This better be good," he said to the person on the other line; he didn't bother to look at the caller I.D._

"_Thomas…" the person on the other line cried, "its…it's." Thomas quickly sat up; he recognized Sam's voice right away. "Sam…calm down. What's going on?" Thomas asked. Emily's head snapped around at the sound of Thomas's concerned voice and the hearing of Sam's name._

"_It's…L-Lara…Oh god…She…I don't know. Winston was bleeding and…she's g-g…gone." Sam was crying so hard that Thomas could barely make out what she was saying; they only thing he could get was that Winston was bleeding and Lara was gone. _

"_Sam…what do you mean she is gone?" Thomas asked. He was afraid to hear the answer; he couldn't take another death. _

"_She was…I don't…there's blood everywhere…but-but Lara…Lara isn't here…I-I can't…find her…" Sam sputtered through the phone. Thomas was out of bed and pulling a shirt on while trying to calm Sam down; Emily didn't need to asked any questions to know to start packing and get ready to leave; she could see that something was wrong. _

"_Sam…listen to me…Sam…listen…shhh….alright I need you to call Fuller okay? Call him…he can probally get to you faster. I'm going to call Peter and we are going to figure this out. Sam…shhh…don't go anywhere…if it's safe then stay there…" Thomas said. He was standing by the door with his head pressed against the frame listening to Sam cry on the other line; she understood his command and told him she would call Fuller. _

"_I'll be there soon," he said before he heard the dial tone on the other end. He pulled the phone from his ear and instantly pressed Peter's speed dial number. Pressing the phone back to his ear, he caught Emily's questioning eyes. _

_As the words left his mouth he heard Peter pick up on the other side, "Lara's missing…"_

* * *

"Bloody hell" Lara muttered as she grabbed her throbbing head. Her fingers made contact with wet skin; she pulled them back to look at them and saw red blood sliding down the tips of them. She looked around and took in the dark surrounding; she had no clue where she was; she couldn't remember how she got here. She was defiantly in a basement of some sort; the ground was unpaved and just plan dirt; the walls were rocky and not smooth like you'd find on the upper levels of a house. She also noticed that there were cell bars on the other side of the room; she was literally locked up.

Grabbing her head once again Lara tried to remember what happened before she woke up but nothing was coming to mind. She used her other hand to press against the rough surface of the wall and push herself to a standing position; she was unsteady at first but after a couple seconds she was able to gain some balance.

She once again looked around but the dim lighting made it hard to see anything new than what she saw while lying on the ground. Slowly she made her way across the room to the bars that locked her in the room. She gripped the bars and looked through them; she didn't see much of anything except a long dark hallway that lead to darkness; the only light source in this basement was the few hanging lanterns.

"Where am I?" Lara whispered; she pressed her head against the cool bars and continued to rack her brain for answers.

"Once the drugs wear off you'll remember…"

Lara's heart stopped; she quickly turned around and scanned the room for the source of the words. She couldn't see anyone but it had sounded close. She looked around for a weapon but there was nothing on the ground; not even a loose rock.

"Don't bother…they sweep this place clean of any sort of weapons…" Lara heard the voice again but still couldn't see any one.

"Show yourself…" Lara growled. She would just have to rely on her hand to hand combat. She heard some shuffling and turned her body towards the sound and positioned herself in a ready fight stance with her hands fisted and up and her knees bent.

She looked towards a large column that was in the middle of the room and saw a dark shadow peek his head around. "Come on…" Lara snapped again.

The figure hesitated a bit but then finally stepped around and slowly began walking towards her. Right away Lara dropped her stance; she could tell there was something off about him and he wasn't going to be a threat. The figure, the man, walked slowly with a limp and was crouched; Lara couldn't help but be reminded of a beaten dog.

She watched him move under the dim lantern and tried to suppress a gasp but couldn't; this man was a prisoner. "Not much of a threat am I?" the man joked. Lara just stared at him; he looked bad. He would have been tall if he hadn't been so crouched; his body was thin and his skin was too big for him. She could see almost every bone he had. He had scars, cuts, bruise all over him and he was shivering since the clothes he had on barely covered him. His shirt was completely torn and was only hanging on by the seams of the left shoulder; his shorts were also torn but were in much better shape than the shirt. Both articles of clothing were dirty and looked like they hadn't been washed in years.

Lara felt bad for gawking but it was hard not too; this man was in rough shape. "I'm sorry…I…um…" Lara tried to say something but she didn't know what to say. The man gave her a weak smile and held out his hand, "Harrison Jackal," he introduced. Lara took a step forward and gently took the man's outstretched hand, "Lara Croft," she replied.

"Oh…I know who you are. I'd recognized the daughter of Richard Croft any day," Harrison said. Lara was somewhat surprised that this man knew her father; he didn't look to be any one that her father would associate with since he only really talked to anyone that he was working with or researching with.

Pulling her hand back Lara decided to take another look at the man; this time she tried to look pass the dirt and cuts. Harrison's hair was long, tangled and dirty but Lara could see that it was a dirty blonde color; from what she could see in the dim light his eyes appeared to be a dark blue. He looked friendly and so very tired.

"What is this place?" Lara whispered. Harrison gave her a sad look before gesturing her to follow him; he led her to the other end of the basement and then slowly slid down the wall onto the floor. "It's the warmest part of the basement," he said to Lara's questioning look. Lara nodded her head and took a seat next to him; it was then that she noticed he wasn't wearing any shoes. "But to answer your question…I'm not sure. I know we are in the basement of a mansion and I believe we are somewhere in France from what I could pick up from the conversations of some of the men but that's all I know of our location," Harrison told her.

"Men? There are others here?" Lara asked. Harrison nodded his head, "Yes…let's say they are not very nice or sociable," he warned. Lara acknowledged his warning but there was one thing that was bugging her since she got a good look at him. "How…How long have you been down here?" she asked. Lara asked the question but she never felt more terrified to know the answer.

"I don't know…the last time I looked at a calendar it said September 16, 2004 and that was two weeks after I was brought here," he said. Lara's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened; she couldn't believe it.

"2004…you've been here since…" Lara couldn't get it to process through her head.

Harrison gave her a dry smile, "judging by your reaction and your age…I've been here a long time?" he more or less asked.

"Last I knew it was November 20th…2013," Lara confessed. She watched his reaction but he didn't seem shocked ore even surprised. She gave him a puzzled looked that he chuckled at, "it was you that gave it away…when they tossed you in here I knew right away that I had been locked down here for more than a few years. Last time I talked to your father you were almost 13…and I'm guessing that you're at least…20?"

"22..." Lara answered. Harrison stared at the ground; he was lost in thought, "22…" he repeated. "10 years…it's amazing how lost time can get," he said.

"I'm sorry…" Lara offered.

"Yeah…man…how old does that make your father then?" Harrison tried lightening the mood. Lara gave him a small smile but didn't say anything. "Is…he's not around is he?" Harrison asked when he saw the small smile not reach her eyes. Lara shook her head, "he went missing when I was 14," Lara told him.

"Damn…he was a good man," Harrison muttered.

They sat in silence for a little bit; neither one knew what to say to each other. Lara jumped when she heard a bang above them; it sounded like someone had dropped something.

"Do you know who these people are?" Lara asked; breaking the silence. Harrison stayed quiet but looked up at where the source of the sound came from. After a few moments he nodded his head to answer her, "A lot of movement has been going on since you got here," he said. "They must know that Richard is dead…so that means…" Harrison was more talking to himself than he was her, "…they wanted you...and…" he trailed off.

Lara looked over at the older man and he glanced down at her, "Fascinating isn't it? The journal that you found…"

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Short and sweet...Review...Follow...whatever you feel...


	6. Chapter 6

"This has to do because of the journal…" Lara muttered. She thought this had something to do with IAA but she was wrong…very wrong. "Wait…how did you know about the journal?" Lara asked when suddenly realizing that Harrison had mentioned it.

Harrison gave her a sad look, "The journal is the reason why I'm here too and have been here for 10 years," he stated but still didn't explain how he knew of the journal. Lara watched him downcast his eyes and begin to pick at the dry skin on his arms. From the scars on his arms Lara assumed that the picking was something that he did often.

"But…the journal…how do you know about it?" she asked again. The older man stayed quiet and continued to pick at his skin and avoid any eye contact with her. Lara didn't want to push him since within a short time frame the older man had just discovered that he had been a prisoner for ten years and Lara is probably the first sincere person he has seen in a while.

Deciding to give the man his space Lara got up and walked over to the bars that separated them from the long dark hallway that most likely led to the rest of the house. Lara pressed her head against the cool bars but quickly pulled back when a pain ripped through her head. She brought her fingers to the gash on her head; she had forgotten about it. The gash itself was small but the bruise that was forming around it was large. She still didn't remember what happen; all she could remember was Sam leaving to get some clothes from their apartment and settling herself down in her father's office. Everything after that was a big blur.

"I'm a veterinarian," Lara jumped at the broken silence; she turned to see Harrison struggling to get up. She rushed over to him and offered him a hand which he stared at for a minute almost as if he was unsure if he could trust her to actually help him or be of harm to him. Finally he came to the conclusion that she wasn't a threat and took her offered hand and allowed himself to be lifted by her strong grip. Lara's heart sank at the feel of his brittle hand; she was afraid that his fingers would break under her grip because they were so weak and he was so thin.

Once he was steady on his feet he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. "Veterinarian?" Lara questioned; Harrison nodded his head. "But…why would you be…" Lara's eyes widen when the answer clicked in her head, "you worked with my father on this project. You were a member of the project…"

"You were always quick to catch on," Harrison commented. He slowly pushed off the wall and began walking around the dark room; Lara walked in step next to him. "I was a member of the project; I was one of the leading members of the project and worked side by side with your father and a few others, Leonard, Mitchell, Whitney, Conrad-"

"Wait…Roth?" Lara interrupted. Harrison jumped at the sudden interruption but quickly calmed down after Lara apologized. He glanced over at her through his peripheral vision, "Yeah…he knew the "subject  
," he explained.

"You said Mitchel, right? As in Dr. Weston?" Lara wanted clarification. "Yes, Dr. Weston," Harrison confirmed. He watched a gloom look form across Lara's face at the confirmation of Dr. Weston.

"Are they still alive?" he asked although he had a good idea of the answer.

"Dr. Weston and…Roth are dead but I don't know about Leonard or Whitney," Lara said. The vet stopped in his tracks and bowed his head; he was mourning the loss of his old friends. After a few moments Harrison lifted his head and took a deep breath.

"Dr. what is this project?" Lara asked the question that has been haunting her since she found the journal.

Dr. Jackal turned to face her, "it's an archeological marvel, a scientific discovery, a biological mystery; it was everything. It is exactly as the journal say it is…a human that is half wolf basically. A human that can physically turn into a wolf. It was a discovery that would have changed our lives forever yet it would never be known to the world," he said. Lara saw a sparkle in his eyes for the first time since she opened hers in this prison. She was amused at the fact that he still got joy out of talking about his work.

"Why?" Lara asked even though she already knew the answer. Dr. Jackal looked in her eyes, "My dear…you already know the answer to that. Just look at the position we are in currently."

Lara let out a sigh and slid down the wall that was directly behind her. Everything was hitting her at once…she had no idea where she was and she had no clue as to whether or not Sam was in harm's way and quite honestly Lara didn't want to think about it or it would make her sick.

"Doctor, who are these people and what do they want?" Lara asked. Harrison gave her a hesitant look before he tried to answer her. He was cut off by the sound of a bolt sliding across melt and footsteps coming down steps.

Lara quickly stood up and moved to the cell bars while Harrison did the opposite; he hid in the shadows of the wall.

The footsteps began to get heavier and louder as they approached the cell; it wasn't long before Lara saw the faint glow of several lanterns. She gripped the bars and waited for the person who was most likely responsible for kidnapping her.

A few seconds later Lara could see the outline of four people walking towards her. Three of the four were males and two of the four were dressed in uniforms of black jeans, black long sleeve shirts and had a gun attached to their belt. She couldn't see the faces of the two body guards since they lagged in the shadows while the other two men stepped up to the cell. They were both dressed formally in suits and ties.

Lara could clearly see they were blood related due to their similar coloring and similar features. The older two was giving her an evil smirk that didn't settle well with her. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked in a very thick French accent. He had to have been over fifty years old; he had a very chubby face and a large belly that hung over his pants. When he spoke Lara could see the missing and rotted teeth and smell his horrid breath. His younger companion didn't say anything but Lara watched his eyes undress her; she could see the hunger in his eyes. The younger of the two looked better than the older; he was a lot thinner and appeared to be fit; his face was long and narrow and when he smirked at Lara he looked to have all his teeth.

"I hope Mr. Jackal has been an accommodating host; he has made quite a home for himself, don't you think?" The older man asked. Lara just ignored him; she continued to grip the bars to the point that her knuckles had turned white.

"I see that you're not the chatty type…that's alright I can change that very quickly." The fat man reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a folded paper and tossed it between the bars so that it landed in front of Lara's feet. She didn't go for it; instead she proceeded to watch the two men.

"I'd suggest you take a look before we proceed. I want you to understand my conditions before I tell you what is expected of you."

Lara gave him a hard look before bending her knees and crouching down to grab the folded paper. When she stood up she opened the paper; and instantly the hairs on her neck stood up and pure anger passed through her veins. She stared down at the beautiful image of Sam getting into her car; it was the day she went to the apartment; the day Lara was kidnapped.

Lara clenched her fist; she was unaware of the blood that was now trickling down her palm from her nails breaking skin.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, I want you to listen and listen very carefully," Lara looked back up at the French and felt her body react to him; she wanted him dead and she wanted to be the one to do it. The French stepped closer to bars; Lara didn't move she held her stance although his stench was overpowering.

"I need you find something for me…you will be given the resources you need so the excuse that you can't do it will not be heard from your mouth. As long as you do what is expected of you then your "friend" will not be harmed and mark my word girl I know where she is," the man threatened.

"What am I looking for?" Lara asked through gritted teeth. The man showed his missing and rotted teeth, "everything will be discussed tomorrow when you start your job; for now you are going to be given time to wash up and some clothes. Wouldn't want my 'employee' being uncomfortable."

Lara had to hold the urge to gag. The French moved to the side so that he could look into the cell, "And you old coward, you know what is expected of you. You will also start tomorrow and you best hope that you have better luck this time or I won't be so generous to keep you around," he yelled into the cell at Harrison. Lara could hear Harrison faintly whimper a small "yes sir" but he didn't show himself.

The man stepped back next to his companion, "That's settled. Alex!" He called.

"Yes," was heard from behind the man; it appeared to have come from the female. She shifted slightly but still didn't come into the light.

"Take Croft to the showers and give her comfortable clothes," the man demanded. "Yes Sir," was the reply.

"Francis, take Jackal to the showers also…the smell down here reeks and it's starting to seep through the floorboards."

Another "yes sir" was heard before the two formally dressed men turned and walked away. The male body guard stepped forward first, "Come on you filthy fag…let's move," he bellowed into the cell. Lara watched Harrison slowly come out of the shadows and move to the now opened cell. The bodyguard roughly grabbed him around the arm causing Harrison to cry out in pain.

"Hey…watch it," Lara yelled at him. The male turned to her, "Or what? Gonna do something to me?" he asked. When he didn't get an answer back he proceeded to drag Harrison down the hall. Once they were out of sight the female, Alex, stepped into the light.

Lara honestly had to say she was slightly taken back. The female in front of her was tall; she had to have been at least 5'10". Lara could easily see by the way her tight black shirt hugged her body that she was very fit and the strong squared jawline confirmed that fact. Her hair was short and a light brown but it was her eyes that captured Lara's attention; they were a bright green. A sense of familiarity shot through Lara while she looked at Alex; there was something about her that Lara knew but couldn't figure out what it was.

"Let's go," Alex spoke firmly. Lara recognized that she didn't have a French accent instead she had an American one. Lara folded up the picture of Sam that was still in her hand and put it into her back pocket before walking out of the cell. When she got closer to Alex she noticed that there was a scar perpendicular to her right eye that looked to be three inches long. If it wasn't for the subtle breasts and subtle feminine feature Alex could have pulled off being a guy without any question.

"Walk forward," Alex demanded. Unlike Francis Alex didn't put a finger on Lara; she just stood there with her hands by her side and waited for Lara to move. Lara slowly moved out of the cell and walked down the dimly lit hallway. She could hear Alex's footsteps following close behind her. "Take a right," she heard her say from behind.

Lara tried to scout her area but Alex was a step ahead of her. "Don't bother…there isn't any place to run nor is there a weapon within your reach," Alex said coolly. Lara squared her shoulders and took the right; it brought her through an arch in the wall that led down another hallway. They walked for a few minutes before Alex told her to stop in front of a door and moved next to her to open it. "In…" she ordered.

Walking in Lara saw that it was a large open shower; there wasn't a shower curtain or a dividing wall that secluded the shower. There was a shelf that held shampoo, soap and from what Lara could guess, clothes. There were also several full length mirrors around the room.

"You have 10 minutes…" Lara glanced over at Alex. She had her arms behind her back and gave her a bored look before turning around to face the now closed door they had just walked through.

The young British stared at the American for a few more moments before sighing and turning to face the shower. Alex was probably giving her the privacy that many of the men would not have given her. Even though she could still probably see Lara through the many vast mirrors, Lara couldn't help but feel that Alex wouldn't look and would give her the respect of her privacy.

Lara slowly stripped her clothes and left them in a pile on the floor before slowly making her way to the wall where the shower head was sticking from. She reached out to the knob and turned it to the right; the water came out cold and after waiting a few seconds she came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to get any warmer.

Sucking in a breath she forced herself under the water and began to rinse and wash herself with the provided soap. A few times she glanced at Alex to make sure that her privacy was still being valued and to her surprise it still was. In fact through one of the mirrors Lara could see that Alex had her eyes shut while she rested her forehead against the door.

There was definitely something off about Alex but not in a bad way; Lara couldn't shake the vibe that Alex was not the same. Shaking her head of the thought Lara finally got sick of the cold water and turned it off; she reached for the small towel and dried herself.

The clothes that they provided were a pair of baggy red sweats and a white t-shirt; both were too big for her but at least the sweats had drawstring. Lara quickly dried her hair and used her fingers as a brush before putting it back into the elastic. Looking into the mirror Lara finally got a good look at herself.

There were a few minor cuts on her arm and then the large bump and gash on her forehead which she had gotten all the dried blood off of but other than that she managed to scrape by. These people haven't physically harmed her…yet.

"I'm done…" Lara announced quietly. Alex lifted her head off the door and opened her eyes. She turned around and scoped Lara's dirty clothes before opening the door and gesturing for her to lead the way out. When they were in the hallway Lara watched her drop her dirty clothes into a trash back that had appeared against the wall; it was then that she realized that she had left Sam's picture in the back pocket of her jeans. She was about to ask if she could grab it but at that moment Francis and Harrison walked down the hallway.

Lara quickly saw the swollen eye on Harrison and noticed that he was hunched over even more. The only thing that seemed even remotely positive on him was that he was clean and actually had clothes that covered his body and had a chance at keeping him warm.

Harrison didn't bother to look up at the two females; he just kept on walking with Francis close behind occasionally giving him a rough shove.

"Follow," Alex said. With one last glance at the trash bag Lara turned and followed the others back to her prison. On the way back Lara took the chance to get an awareness of her surroundings. From what she could gather there were several hallways that led to different rooms and these hallways connected to one large one which at one end led to the stairs to the first floor and at the other end led to their prison. They were defiantly in a mansion of some sort which meant that there was more than likely a lot of surrounding land and/or a large wall or fence around the property. Lara's heart sank a little at the realization; it meant that escaping would be difficult if she could even figure out a way to escape.

They had made it to the cell and while they were waiting for Harrison to go in Lara felt Alex brush up really close to her and make skin to skin contact as she brushed by to stand next to Francis.

"In you go sweetheart," Francis said. Lara saw him rake his eyes over her body and instantly felt the hairs on her next stand up. When she entered the cell she saw Harrison sitting against the wall shoving food in his mouth; it was then she started to get a whiff of the trays of food on the floor. Harrison had one tray in front of him and the other one was left in the middle of the room and the contents on it didn't look very appetizing but Lara felt her stomach growl.

She heard the cell door slam but didn't care to look back instead she grabbed her tray of brown mush and moved to take a seat next to the doctor. When she did turn to face the cell door the two guards were out of sight and had taken most of the light with them.

"Don't fret…it will make you go mad," Harrison said through a stuffed mouth. Lara looked down at him and offered him a weak smile and then proceeded to slide down the wall and attempted to eat and hold down the food on the tray.

After the first few bites and gagging fits Lara was able to forgo the taste and just eat it; she had to eat it fast but at least he had given her stomach something. "You okay?" she asked the doctor after placing her tray next to her.

"Yeah…this…this is nothing," he told her. He had also placed his tray down and was now stretching his legs in front of him and petting at the soft material of his sweatpants.

"They don't give you showers and clothes often, do they?" Lara asked although she didn't really want to know the answer.

"No…my last set… I have no idea how long I wore them."

He continued to pet his sweatpants but slouched down and closed his eyes; it wasn't long before Lara could hear his breathing become deeper.

Lara watched the older man for a bit before leaning her head back and staring at the ceiling. She brought her knees to her chest and reached to put her hands in her pockets. Lara was surprised to find something in her right pocket; she knew that there was nothing there when she had put on the sweatpants.

Grasping the object Lara pulled it out and was shocked to see the folded paper; it was the picture of the Sam that she had left in her other pant pocket.

"But…?" Lara muttered a bit confused until she remembered the few seconds before she entered the cell when she was brushed against. The picture was purposely placed in her pocket by Alex.

Lara let out a shaky breath and couldn't help the few lone tears that escaped when she opened up the paper. "Sam…" she whispered as she traced her thumb across Sam's face. Even thought it was hard to see the image in the bad lighting Lara could still see the beautiful face that she had gotten so used to seeing every day, appear in her head. She didn't need a picture but it was still nice to have one. And it also gave Lara another reason to be aware to Alex.

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Hey guys sorry for the long gap but I've been so busy with school and work then my mothers engine blew and to make matters worse my cousin crashed my computer and lost all of my stuff. thankfully I wrote 85% of my story plot in my notebook or else my cousin might have gone missing. Here you go...enjoy and Happy New Years.


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